Susan Pompeo, Mike’s Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Mike Pompeo, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA director, will have his confirmation hearing this week.

Pompeo has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011, representing Kansas’ fourth district. He has previously served in the Army and worked in business as the president of an oilfield equipment company.

1. She’s From Wichita, Kansas

Susan Pompeo was born and raised in Wichita, Kanas, and she graduated from Wichita State University.

She loves her hometown, and even when her husband became a member of the House of Representatives and moved to Washington, D.C., the two of them came back to Wichita every other weekend.

“It used to be when someone was elected they bought a house and moved their entire family to Washington and that’s where they lived,” Susan Pompeo told Wichita Magazine. “That’s where the kids went to school. That’s where they made their home. But for us it could never be home. Wichita is home and we get back here as often as we can.”

Mike and Susan Pompeo have one son, Nick, who is 26 years old. According to Witchita Magazine, Nick Pompeo lives in New York. Like Susan and Mike, Nick is a fan of basketball and in particular the Wichita State team.

Mike and Susan also have two dogs: Patton, a golden retriever, and Holly, a beagle.

2. She Helped Her Husband Throughout His Congressional Campaign

Mike Pompeo ran for the House of Representatives in the 2010 election, and his wife Susan was an integral part of his campaign.

In fact, Susan says that she enjoyed the process of campaigning even more than her husband did.

“We decided we would do this together,” Susan Pompeo told Wichita Magazine. “We set out to do this like we would do any venture. I loved the campaigning part of it, much more than Mike did. We’ve laughed many times because there is no manual to tell you step-by-step how to do this, not even how to transition.”

Susan continued to help out her husband behind the scenes after he won his House seat. In 2011, Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn appeared at a fundraiser without paying, and Susan Pompeo sent him a $2,500 bill.

“It’s my view that Karl wanted a ‘freebie,'” Susan Pompeo said at the time, according to The Witchita Eagle. “We rarely give freebies and there were none at that event. We probably won’t get a dime from him, but hopefully he won’t try to crash another event of ours.”

3. She Appeared in One of Her Husband’s Campaign Ads

During Mike Pompeo’s 2010 Congressional campaign, Susan helped her husband both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. She appeared in a 30 second TV spot entitled “Susan’s Boots.”

In the ad, Susan says that her husband is like his old army boots: tough, durable, and working step by step until the mission is done. The commercial ends with Mike Pompeo appearing with his wife and saying, “I’m Mike Pompeo and I approve this message, and I’m crazy about the messenger.”

5. She Criticized Her Husband’s Performance on the House Select Committee On Benghazi

In 2014, Mike Pompeo was a member of the House Select Committee On Benghazi, and he had the opportunity to ask Hillary Clinton questions about the attack in Libya.

According to BuzzFeed, Pompeo later said that he thought he did well, but his family disagreed; his son gave him a ‘C’ and his wife gave him an ‘F.’

“I was reminded, I had three opportunities for ten minutes each, my first one I asked [Hillary Clinton] about accountability, where I know wasn’t received so much as a — I gave myself an ‘A’ for that line of questioning. My son gave me a ‘C,” Pompeo said. “My second set of questions I frankly didn’t do as well. It was more difficult to control her extended answers — I, it was trickier and I let my emotion get ahold of me a little bit more, you can go back and watch it, it only takes ten minutes, I wasn’t as good.”